Subsidies in Békés county

Kelle, Veronika – Takács, István

Keywords: agricultural financing, national and EU subsidies, gross domestic product

Békés county’s agricultural nature determines its state of economic development. The gross value added per head produced by the county’s agricultural sector significantly exceeds the national average. However, growth in the county’s economic results falls behind the rest of the country and the gap is widening in terms of GDP per head. The region’s lag could be halted through appropriate activism and professional subsidy applications. The county’s share of subsidy resources and the amount granted per application have increased. Its application activity is high, falling into the top third of all counties. In assessing subsidy grants, the judges favour the more complex applications. At the same time it is a disadvantage that the subsidy amount available for one project, in the case of developments financed through AVOP (Agricultural and Regional Development Operative Programme), is lower than nationally, indicating a smaller volume of individual developments.

The applications show that the county is ready for successful participation in EU grant-making processes, which could be useful in the 2007-2013 period. It will help the county close the economic gap, including in agricultural production and the processing industry that is built on it, as well as assisting in the development of the service sector.